Why is your company a great place to work in? We believe that Federal Bank is a great place to work because it cares for its employees and is conscious of its role in society. Moreover, the attitudes and behaviour of the organisation is truly inclusive

Your organisation’s most employee-friendly policy? If you ask me to pick the best I would say it is our health care policy that truly depicts a caring attitude. We have also recently launched a medical insurance scheme titled “FedCare” that aims at extending a helping hand to retired employees at a time when they most need it

What is the most unique thing about your appraisal system? We complete the goal setting process during the beginning of the financial year through mutual discussions. The performance review discussions offer enough flexibility for employees to openly share their opinions and concerns about performance and targets. This flexibility which we offer in our appraisal system helps employees see the system as a developmental tool rather than as a measuring tool. We think this is the unique proposition we have in our appraisal system. Our effort is to strengthen the conversations that need to happen between superiors and subordinates

Your company’s mission and vision statement?

Vision: To become the ‘numero uno’ bank in Kerala and be the ‘trusted’ partner of choice for target customers, and offer innovative products.

Mission: Devote balanced attention to the interests and expectations of stakeholders; develop in every employee a high degree of pride and loyalty in serving the bank; meet and even exceed expectations of target customers by delivering appropriate products and services

Has your company initiated any environmentally-friendly practices? Some of the initiatives include leveraging technology to acheive a paperless work environment, promoting electronic customer correspondence and encouraging internet and mobile banking

Other CSR activities? We have recently received the prestigious Golden Peacock award for our CSR initiatives. As part of the various initiatives we had launched on our 67th Founders’ Day, we conducted a Pink Walkathon to spread awareness against breast cancer. We had also allotted funds to our regions to identify and donate for a genuine purpose and many schools, hospitals, and orphanages have benefitted from this initiative

Does your company use social media for recruitment? Do you also check a candidate’s online social media profile before the hire? We currently don’t undertake recruitment through social media platforms, but we have opened an online job portal on our website where interested candidates can load their profiles

Tell us something about the induction process in your organisation? Fresh recruits are taken through an intense induction programme at the Federal Knowledge Development Centre where they get to learn about the bank’s policies, processes and operational systems. In addition, Elixir, our mentoring programme, assigns the responsibility of coaching and developing new recruits to senior people

How diverse is your workforce? Do you have expatriates on board? If yes, how many and at what level? Fifty per cent of our employees are young entrants who are under 30 years of age and the other 50% consists of employees who have more than 30 years of experience to their credit. This unique equation offers us an interesting opportunity to blend experience with energy and enthusiasm. Our organisation is a multigenerational, multi-linguistic workforce where people follow different traditions, customs and practices. At the moment, our international presence is somewhat restricted. We have representative offices in some geographies. Hence, we are yet to hire in international locations.

Is your organisation woman-friendly? What are the special facilities provided to them? How does the organisation ensure their safety during late-night commutes, etc? Around 34% of our workforce consists of women. We provide six months’ maternity leave and offer a three-year sabbatical programme which women employees can utilise to raise their children and family. (Also read: India Inc. to focus on women talent in 2013)

What about specially challenged people? Any special initiatives for them in terms of vacancies and disabled-friendly infrastructure? We are an equal employment opportunity provider and do not discriminate on the basis of disability, sex or caste. We have a call centre manned by physically challenged persons

What kind of workspace do you have – seating arrangements, computers, reception area, canteen and other facilities? Ergonomics is given priority so that employees feel comfortable in the place they work in. Computers with minimal radiation levels are provided which are changed after every five years

What is the average age of your workforce? How many years, on average, do people stay in your organisation? We have recruited close to 4000 employees in the last three years and as a consequence of this, the average age of employees is around 38 years. We have many employees that have put in more than 35 years of service. Taking the attrition factor into account, people stay in our organisation for an average of about 14 years

What was the percentage salary hike in your organisation in 2012? We are a member of the Indian Banks’ Association. As per industry practice, the salary and other allowances of our employees are fixed on the basis of bilateral negotiations held with the representatives of employee unions. The settlement stands for a period of five years and increments are fixed based on each scale

About Radhakrishnan Nair:

Radhakrishnan Nair, a postgraduate in personnel management and industrial relations from XLRI Jamshedpur, started his career with the Indian Aluminum Company Ltd in 1984. He later worked in the Eicher Group, Mahindra Ford Ltd, Citibank, Mahindra British Telecom, Tata Communications Ltd, SunTec Business Solutions and Tata Steel. He joined Tata Group in 2002 as VP - HR (projects) of Tata Sons Ltd, where he was also head - remuneration in Tata Sons Ltd, and VP - learning, and director, Tata Management Training Centre. His last assignment with the Tata Group was as VP - talent acquisition, before he joined Federal Bank as chief human resource officer